POLLUTION levels in two Glasgow streets are still too high but are on the way down due to the low emission zone,  a meeting heard.

The two most polluted spaces in the city – with higher Nitrogen Dioxide  (N02)  levels – were Hielanman’s Umbrella North and Gordon Street near Central Station according to recent figures.

N02 is mostly generated  from traffic, particularly diesel vehicles.

Scottish Greens councillor Blair Anderson said he is very glad the LEZ went ahead "despite people spreading misinformation about it".

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SNP Councillor Angus Millar, responsible for climate and transport, said: "The roll out of the LEZ is one of the main ways in which we will continue to tackle air quality and problematic levels of air pollution in the city centre."

Explaining more about N02 levels, a council official said: "The results for 2023 show that all automatic monitoring is within the annual mean objective but the results from Glasgow kerbside (Hope Street monitoring station) remain marginal."

He  said another  two locations monitored "in the immediate vicinity of Glasgow Central Station remain as  exceedances (in 2023) although levels have  declined significantly over that observed in the previous year".

The official told the meeting there were "marginal exceedances in the area of Central Station particularly in Gordon Street where the main emission source is from taxis serving the station".

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Gordon Street recorded an  Annual Mean NO2 (µg/m3 ) of 42.1  in 2023 while Hielanman’s Umbrella hit 40.9.

Speaking at last week’s net zero and climate progress monitoring committee, the officer said the decrease in N02 seen in 2023 reversed previous increases.

He pointed out there has been a 15 per cent drop in levels across the city between 2022 and 2023  as a whole with a decrease of 20 per cent in the low emission zone (LEZ).

He said the city has "come very close to full compliance with the statutory objectives" in 2023  and "further improvements can be expected". 

The committee heard levels of another pollutant – Particulate Matter  (PM10) – have  achieved all objectives, which was described as good news as it is harmful to health. 

Councillors attending the meeting were told the LEZ is leading to less pollution since it began enforcement on June 1, 2023, although residents were exempt as well as taxi drivers.

The low emission rules were only operational for about half of 2023 so the full effect has not been seen yet. 

A council paper said: "As the Glasgow LEZ was only enforced for part of the calendar year and was not universal in scope due to the above grace periods and exemptions, it is not yet possible to determine the full impact of the LEZ on the annual mean objective from the observed 2023 monitoring results."

An air quality management area has been declared in Glasgow city centre as air quality objectives were not met.